Propelling or power-generating mechanism.



J. U. CALDWELL.

PROPELLING OR POWER GENERATING MECHANISM.

APPLIUATION FILED APRIL 9, 1912.

Patented July 22, 1918, I

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J. G. CALDWELL. v PROPELLING 0R POWER GENERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APRJS), 1912.

Patented July 22,1913.

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PROPELLING 0R POWERGENBRATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED APR. 1;), 1912.

1,067,897, Patented July 22, 1913.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON, u, c.

J. C. GALD WELL.

PBOPELLING OR POWER GENERATING MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1912.

Patented July 22, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

awuemtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. CALDWELL, OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 CHARLES W. THOMPSON, OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS.

PROPELLING OR POWER-GENERATING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 22, 1913.

Application filed April 19, 1912. Serial No. 691,954.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN C. CALDWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beaumont, in the county of Jefferson and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Propelling or Power- Grenerating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to propelling mechanism for air and marine craft, and particularly to that type of propelling mechanism in which feathering blades are mounted for travel upon an endless carrier movable in a substantially elliptical orbit, the blades automatically opening for action at the outset of their working course of travel and automatically feathering at the outset of their return course of travel.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple, reliable and efficient type of propelling mechanism which is susceptible for use upon either air or marine craft.

Another object of the invention is to provide a propelling mechanism of this character which may be reversed for back propulsion without reversing the engine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a propelling mechanism which will run backward without injury in the event of casual reverse movement of the engine, as in case of back firing when a gasolene engine is employed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a propelling mechanism which will utilize all of the effective working force of the engine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide reversing mechanism which limits the reverse action to a single orbit of movementv of the propellers and which then automatically resets the propelling mechanism for a forward driving action.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for preventing the propellers from slamming or hammering in the operation of shifting them end for end in passing from the active or working to the inactive or nonworking stretches of the endless cara stream to supply power for domestic, com- .mercial or other purposes.

WVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of a propelling mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same, showing the mechanism and one set of blades as arranged for forward propulsion. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the propelling mechanism with the top of the frame or casing removed. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical transverse sections on the lines 55 and 6--6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 -7 of Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is a perspective View of one of the arms of a propeller. Fig. 9 is a detail section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 2.

' In carrying my invention into practice, I provide a suitable frame structure including spaced side walls 1 and 2, in the inner faces of which walls are formed duplicate elliptical guide channels 3 for endless carrier chains 4, each of said guide channels comprising upper and lower longitudinal, parallel main portions 5 and (3 terminally connected by inner and outer curved end portions 7 and 8. The forward end of the upper longitudinal or horizontal portion of each guide channel is further connected with the lower end of the front end portion 7 by a diagonal groove or channel 9, while the rear end of the lower longitudinal or horizontal portion of each guide channel is connected with the upper end of the rear end portion 7 by a diagonal groove or channel 10. At or near the respective upper and lower ends of the front and rear outer portions 9 of the channels are provided pockets or recesses 11 and 12, which are inclined at an obtuse angle to the perpendicular plane of the shafts of the adjacent wheels of the endless carrier. Arranged at or adjacent to the points of communication of the horizontal portion (3 of the channels with the lower ends of the inner rear portions 7 are deflecting pins or projections 13, while disposed at the rear ends of said portions 6 adjacent the pockets 12 are switches or deflecagainst stops 25.

tors 14. Each of these switches or deflectors comprises a normally vertical plate carried by a shaft 15 pivota-lly mounted in the adjacent wall of the frame, a spri-ng 16 being arranged to act upon said shaft to normally maintain said switch plate in a depending with the perpendicular plane of the shaft or axis of the adjacent wheels of the endless carrier, as h'ereinafte'r described.

The chains 4: pass around opposed pairs of sprocket wheels 18 mounted on transverse shafts 19 and 20 and travel in slots or grooves 21 of reduced width formed in the inner walls of the portions 5, 6 and 7 of the elliptical guide channels, said chains thus having fixed path or orbit of movement. One of the shafts, as "the front shaft 19, pro jects exteriorly at one or both sides of the frame and may be directly coupled by a driving crank to the engine or motor, so that all of the effective power of the latter maybe utilized.

Arranged at suitable spaced intervals between and connected with the carrier chains are propellers, each comprising a pair of blades hingedly mounted upon a transverse rod 23 fixed to the chains, said blades being adapted to swing freely in one direction to a substantially horizontal position against a stop 24 and in the reverse direction to a substantially vertical position The stops 24l and 25 are respectively formed or provided upon the arms '26 and 27 of duplicate carrier or controlling bars pivotally mounted upon the rod 23 and provided at their extremities with rollers :29 and 30 to travel in the guideways, said rods being "a'lso provided at their extremities with oppositely projecting hook shaped cam portions or deflecting lugs 31 and 32. These bars are adapted to be reversed end for end to reverse the propeller blades for a working action in either direction and a feathering action in the opposite direction, as hereinafter described.

In practice, any desired number of propellers may 'be employed, but in the present instance I have shown in Fig. 2 six propellers of the construction described ar ranged at re ular intervals upon the endless chain carrier in such manner that one-half of the number of propellers will be in working position at a time while the remaining propellers are feathered. As illustrated In Fig. 2 the propellers upon the lower stretches v of the carrier chain are in working position and moving from left to right to propel the vessel in a forward direction or to the left, while the propellers upon the forwardly moving upper stretches of' the chain are folded or feathered for the return movement to diminish their resistance to passage through the air or water. As thus illus trated, the blades 22 on the working prope'llers project above and below their carrier arms in alinement with each other and rest against the stops 25, while the blades of the returning propellers are folded rearwardly to a substantially horizontal position against the shoulder 24, in which position they travel edgewise through the air or water and to which position they are automatically moved by the pressure of the air or water thereon. travel for forward propulsion each Working propeller travels horizontally along the portions 6 of the guide-ways until the rollers 29 upon the arms 26 of the carrier bars contact with the switches or deflectors 1a, which prevent said rollers from passing upwardly into the outer end grooves 8 and deflect the same downward into the pockets or recesses 12, in which they are momentarily held for a pivotal motion. As the rollers 29 enter said pockets 12, the projections 32 engage the pins 13, thus throwing the rear ends of the carrier bars upward so that the rollers 30 enter and travel upwardly in the diagonal grooves 10. In this position the carrier bars clear the stops 12 and are inclined at an obtuse angle to their normal plane of travel, the rollers 29 being seated and retained in the pockets while the rollers 30 travel upwardly in the grooves 10. The arms 27 of the carrier arms are thus shifted to precede the arms 26 in the backward travel of the propeller, and as the rollers 30 travel up the guide grooves 10 and finally pass into the rear ends of theupper horizontal guide-way portions 5, the rollers 29 pass from the pockets 12 and travel upwardly through the outer rear end portions 8 of the guide-ways until the propeller finally becomes a part of the return stretch of the endless carrier and travels forwardly on the return movement, in which the blades thereof are feathered as hereinbefore described. Upon the passage of the rollers 29 beyond the switches 1%, the latter are returned to their normal position by the spring 16. The ockets 12 are made comparatively deep and with their entrance portions substantially underlying the lower ends of the division walls between the slot portions 7 and '8, so that the rollers29 will be pocketed and held for the pivotal motion and retained during the entire travel of the rollers 30 through In their normal course of the diagonal slots 10, thus diminishing the liability of said rollers 30 slamming or hammering against the said division walls between the guide-way portions 7 and 8 near the end of the pivotal motion of the propeller. As the rollers 30 reach mid position in the grooves 10 and come into longitudinal alinement with the pockets, the lower ends of the carrier bars gradually swing toward the faces 12' of the stops 12 with which they finally contact when the rollers 30 pass into the upper portions or the grooves 7. At this stage the rollers 30 contact with the slightly flattened portions 7 of the grooves 7 50 that while the rollers 29 are moving out of the pockets the propeller will travel substantially parallel with the axis 20 of the sprocket wheels around which the endless carrier is passing. By this means an easy release of the rollers 29 and movement of the same into the guide portions 8 is effected, and at the same time the rollers 30 are prevented from violently striking the surfaces 7, whereby in the described shifting motion of the propellers in passing from'the working to the non-working stretch of the end less carrier hammering or racking of the propeller mechanism will be avoided, greater ease of operation insured and a smooth running motion produced.

The forward ends of the grooves 5 in the respective walls comnninicate with the adj acent ends of the grooves 7, 8, and 9 through recesses 31 in the respective side walls. Controlling each of these recesses is a pair of gates 32 and 33 mounted to slide laterally into and out of said recesses. These gates are respectively provided with sets of diagonal or obliquely arranged slots 84 and 35 receiving pins 36 on a longitudinally movable slide bar 37. The slots in the two gates extend in opposite directions, so that said gates will be alternately projected and retracted by reverse movements of the bar. The gate 32 controls communication between the groove 5, recess 31, and groove 8, while the gate 33 controls direct communication between the groove 5 andgroove 8. The gate 32 is normally retracted in the adjustment of the parts for a forward propulsive action and is provided with a laterally projecting contact pin or deflector 38, while the gate 83 is normally projected in such adjustment of the parts and is curved on an arc to form a part of the division wall between the grooves 7 and 8. The two slide bars 37 are provided at their forward ends with keeper openings 39 adapted to be engaged by a spring actuated locking pin 40 connected with a pivotally mounted operating arm il, said openings 39 normally lying at a point in advance of said pin, in which position the slide bars are held by retracting springs 42. The rear ends of; the slide bars are connected by links 43 with the norof pockets o1- recesses mally vertical lower arms of bell crank opcrating levers l4 mounted on a transverse shaft l?) for movement in unison. The hori zontal arm of one of the levers H is arranged to be engaged by a contact pin td on the short arm of a substantially L-shaped trip lever 47 moui'it-ed loosely on a short shaft 18 to which is rigidly connected a re versing or setting lever 4H). The pin l6 moves in a guide slot 50 in the adjacent side wall and is connected with a spring 51 whereby the lever 47 is normally held in retracted position, out of the path of movement of the projections 31 and on the propeller carrier bars. Connected with the shaft 48 is a crank arm 2 carrying a pin 53 engaging the long arm of the lever 4LT, whereby upon a rearward movement of the reversing lever 1:9 the lever 47 may be ad justed so that its long arm will hang vertical and in the path of movement of the projection 31, while the pin 46 will be moved upwardly into contact with the lever flat. The lever a9 is normally held retracted against a stop 5% by a retracting spring 55.

Journaled in the frame above one of the recesses 31' is a rotary member 57 carrying a wheel or disk 58 having an annular series 59 equal. in number to the propellers on the endless carrier, which pockets are adapted to be engaged under certain conditions by the rollers 29 of the adjacent carrier arms to turn or rotate said wheel. The said rotary member is also provided with a series of keeper sockets 60 arranged opposite the pockets and equal in number thereto, which sockets are adapted to be engaged by a locking pin or plunger ($1 connected by a crank arm with an upwardly movable trip arm 63 and normally held projected by a spring Gel. On said rotary member is further provided a releasing lug or projection (35 adapted when the rotary member has made one complete revolution to engage and lift the arm ll to retract the locking pin 40.

When it is desired to reverse the propellers for backward propulsion, the lever 4-9 is moved forward to set the lever 4-"? that it will be rocked by the projection 31 upon the first tea hered propeller coming in con-- tact therewith, whereby the lever iii? will be operated to shift the slide bars 37 rear wardly until the openings 39 come into register with the locking pins a0, which are projected into locking engagement therewith by their spring, thus holding the slides in their adjusted position. In the normal movement of the parts for forward propulsion as before described, the gate 32 is proj ected and the gate 33 retracted, whereby the rollers 30 on the propellers are permitted to enter the grooves S and enter the recesses 11, while the gate 32 prevents the rollers 29 from entering the recesses 31 and causes lee the same to pass downward through the diagonal grooves 9, in which operation .the projections 31 engage and are deflected downward into said grooves 9 by the pins 38. On the rearward movement of the slides, however, the gate 32 is retracted and the gate 33 projected, whereby in the travel of the returning propellers the rollers 30 are prevented from entering the grooves 8 and recesses 11 and are caused totravel down into the grooves 7, while the rollers 29 are permit-ted to pass upwardly into the recesses 31 and thence into the grooves 8, and are so caused to move by the previous down travel of the rollers 30 in the grooves 7 and the swing of the propeller carrier arms on the rods 23. Through this change in the direction of travel of each propeller in passing from non-working to Working position, the propeller is reversed end for end, so that the arms 27 instead of the arms 26 will be in an advanced position in the rearward travel of said propellers on the lower stretch of the endless carrier. Hence the blades on such stretch of the carrier will feather and become inactive, while the blades 'of the propellers on the upper stretch of the endless carrier will be moved to working position, thus adjusting the propelling mechanism for backward propulsion. In the present construction the propellers operate in reverse position during a single course or orbit of travel, at the end of which they are automatically reset for forward propulsion again, but the backward motion may be continued at the end of each orbit of reverse motion by adjusting the lever l9 to set the gates for the reverse action, as will be readily understood. As each propeller passes the wheel 58 and swings on its supporting rod 23, the roller 30 on the adjacent arm 28 first engages the trip 63 and retracts the locking bolt 61, and then passes into the first adjacent recess 59 of the wheel 58, and turns said wheel the space of one tooth or recess, at which time the bolt 61 again locks the wheel from movement. This action continues until all of the propellers, six in number, have traveled in reversed position past said wheel and turned the same a corresponding number of times, whereby the wheel is given a complete revolution. As the rotary member turns the releasing projection 65 turns therewith and on the final .movementof the wheel said projection engages and lifts the arm 41, thus retracting the locking pin 10 and releasing the slides 37 which are returned to normal position by the springs 42, whereby the parts will be reset for adjustment of the propellers for forward propulsion again, in which the gate 32' is projected and the gate 33 retracted, as before described. As, however, the propellers are reversed end for end from their normal position, a second reversing action is necessary .to readjust them for forward propulsion. This is accomplished by again throwing the reversing mechanism into operation, by which the propellers will be turned end for end to their normal or original position and reset for forward propulsion. After all six propellers during this action have passed the resetting mechanism and effected the release and retraction of the slides and the restoration of the gates to normal position, the conditions first described will be reestablished for a continuance of the forward propulsive action of the propellers, as will be readily understood.

It will be apparent. that the construction described allows the propellers when set for either a forward or a rearward driving action to travel with the chains in a direction reverse to their normal direction of travel in the event that the chains should be casually run backward from any cause, as by the reversal of the engine fro-m back firing in the use of a gaso-lene motor, the advantages of which'will be appreciated.

lVhile I have described and shown an apparatus primarily adapted for use as a pro peller, the same apparatus, with slight changes or modifications, may be employed as a current or tide motor by simply dispensing with the grooves 7 and 10, pockets 12, stops 12 projections 13 and the reinforcing mechanism, so as to allow the propellers to travel in a fixed guide-way formed by the grooves 5, 6, and 8 without the end to end shifting action. The propellers upon one stretch of the chain of the carrier will thus operate as propelling members when the tide or current. is flowing in one direction, while the propellers upon the other stretch will feat-her, while a reverse action will take place when the current or tide is running in the opposite direction without changing the direction of motion of the propelling mechanism, so that power may be applied and transmitted from one of the shafts for domestic or commercial use. here the current of a stream runs constantly in one direction, the mechanism disclosed may be employed to secure a constant driving and power supplying action, in which event the reversing mechanism may be dispensed with, while the means for shifting the propellers end to .end may be employed to secure a feathering action of the propellers on the return stretch. I, therefore, do not limit the invention in use strictly to a mechanism for propelling vehicles, as it may be employed wherever tide or current motion of a stream is available to furnish power for general use.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is 1. A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, propellers mounted on the carrier, each including blades pivoted to swing to an operative position on the working stretch of the carrier and to feather or fold on the return stretch of the carrier, and means for reversing the propellers end for end to vary their direction of working motion.

A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, propellers pivetally mounted upon the carrier so as to be reversible end for end to vary their direction of working movement, said propellers including blades pivoted to swing to an operative position on their working movement and to fold or feather on their return movement, guiding means for maintaining a continuity of action of said propellers, and means forming part of said guldmg means for shltting the propellers end for end to vary their direction of working motion.

3. A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, )ropellers provided with pivoted blades adjustable to an operative position. on their working motion and to fold or feather automatically on their return motion, said propellers being pivotally mounted upon the rotary carrier for end to end adjustment to vary their direction of working motion, guiding means for maintaining a continuity of motion of the propellers, and means forming part of said guiding means for shifting the propellers end for end to vary the direction of their working motion.

l. A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, feathering propellers pivotally supported by the carrier for adjustment to forward or backward propelling position, means for guiding the propellers for a working motion in one direction, or adjustment for working motion in the reverse direction, said means including means for shifting said propellers, and automatic means controlled by the propellers for returning said shifting means to normal position.

A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, reversible feathering propellers mounted upon the carrier, means for shifting said propellers for either a forward or backward propelling action, and means controlled by the propellers for returning the shifting means to normal position.

6. A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, propellers pivotally mounted on the carrier for adjustmeans controlled by carrier for end to end adjustment to vary ment to reverse working position and provided with feathering blades, guiding means for maintaining a continuity of movement of the propellers, switch mechanism forming part of said guiding means for reversing the direction of motion of the propellers, and

the propellers for automatically retracting said switch mechanism.

7. A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, propellers provided with feathering blades and pivotally mounted on the carrier for end to end adjustment to any their direction of worle ing motion, guiding devices upon the propellers, a gnideway provided with portions for the normal travel of the propellers to maintain them in forward propelling posi tion, said guideway having portions for coaction with the guides upon the propellers to shift said propellers for a reverse action, switch mechanism cooperating with the latter-named portions of the guideway for the purpose set forth, means for setting the same for action, and means controlled by the propellers for automatically retracting said switch mechanism.

8. A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, propellers provided with feathering blades and mounted upon the carrier, said PLOIVEllQI'S being bodily adjustable end to end to reverse wcrking position, means for maintaining a prescribed course of travel for the propellers for the continuous forward propulsion, switch mechanism coiiperating therewith for shifting the propellers for backward propulsion, means for setting said switch mechanism, means for locking the same in set position, and means for releasing said switch mechanism and returning the same to normal position, said means being operated by the propellers for maintaining the same in backward propelling position for a prescribed period.

9. A propelling or power generating mechanism comprising a frame having an endless guideway provided with horizontal upper and lower portions and curved end portions, an endless carrier, reversible propellers mounted on the carrier and provided with rollers to traverse said trackway, and controlling means for shifting said propellers for either a forward or a backward motion, said propellers being adapted to feather on their return portion of movement in either direction of propelling motion.

10. A propelling mechanism comprising an endless carrier having a fixed orbit of movement, propellers provided with feathering blades and pivotally mounted on the their direction of working motion, guiding devices upon the propellers, a guideway protrol the swing of the propellers on their vided with portions for the normal travel of shifting mot-ion. 10 the propellers to maintain them in forward In testimony whereof I aflix my signature propelling position, said guideway having in presence of two Witnesses.

portions for coaction with the guides upon JOHN C. CALDVVELL.

the propellers to shift said propellers for a lVitnesses:

reverse action, and means cooperating with B. E. MOFADDEN,

said guides and guicleway portions: to conl HAL. GnLAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

